Insights from Bush Institute immigration expert Laura Collins
We are six months into the second Trump Administration, and the notion that immigration enforcement will only target criminals has run its course. It was never really true that maximum enforcement would be limited to immigrants who have committed crimes beyond immigration violations. The detention data since January have shown that an increasing share of immigrant detainees are not criminals. As the administration continues to push for higher removal numbers, we will continue to see arrests at soft targets, like court hearings and even government-mandated immigration appointments.
There is a fiscal cost to this, in addition to the potential economic losses. While enforcement is important, there are alternatives that can balance security and the economic benefit immigrants bring to the United States.
I’ve advocated for a legislative solution for the undocumented and DREAMers for years. I’d be lying if I denied that that was in part due to compassion for their circumstances.
More than compassion, though, is that a pathway to legalization or citizenship is ruthlessly practical. The United States needs their labor. We need their talent. And these immigrants desperately want the economic opportunities we have in this country. It just makes more sense from a policy perspective to allow these immigrants the chance to stay and work legally.
Immigration enforcement is often framed as a binary choice: We either use maximum enforcement, or we have open borders. Neither of these options is realistic.
We can be a secure nation and a welcoming one at the same time. Being welcoming doesn’t mean we are encouraging unauthorized migration or shunning enforcement. It means we are open to the contributions that people from around the world can offer.
Figure of the Month
56,397
That’s the number of immigrants held in detention as of June 15, according to the latest data made public by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – the highest number on record, according to Syracuse University professor Austin Kocher. Notably, Kocher says that nearly one-third of all immigrants currently detained have no criminal histories other than civil immigration violations.
Data Dive
- After announcing a travel ban for 12 countries and partial restrictions on seven countries earlier in June, the travel ban could expand to include an additional 36 countries. This further restricts legal migration and will have negative economic impacts.
- Migration could slow enough this year for the United States to lose more immigrants than it admits for the first time in 50 years. This is being driven by a slowdown at the border and by hostility to admitting immigrants through other legal channels.
- Amid travel bans and visa suspensions, economists warn that losing international students could trigger economic ripple effects that will be felt far beyond U.S. colleges. In the 2023-2024 academic year alone, over 1.1 million international students contributed nearly $44 billion to the U.S. economy and supported 378,000 jobs, according to NAFSA, the Association of International Educators. International students don’t just pay tuition: they pay rent, dine at local restaurants, buy goods and services, and much more.
- The Texas Legislature approved $3.4 billion for ongoing border security efforts in the state but defunded the state’s effort to build a wall. At only 8% complete, the state-built wall encountered the same challenges that have faced a full border wall for decades, such as geography. The primary culprit? Private landowners who are unwilling to allow barriers to be built on their property.
- With the cancellation of the Cuba-Haiti-Nicaragua-Venezuela (CHNV) parole program, approximately 530,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who have the legal right to be in the United States temporarily will be made undocumented.
What I’m Reading
- Axios’ Erica Pandey calls the one-two punch of research cuts and hostility to foreign students “America’s brain drain.” Foreign students who stay and contribute to the United States are a competitive advantage, and our policies should consider how to maximize their benefits rather than driving them to other countries.
- The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating report on the internal conversations to push ICE to arrest and remove millions of immigrants regardless of whether or not they committed crimes.
- NBC News reports on the questionable but fast tactics being used to arrest immigrants who show up for their court hearings. Arresting people at court hearings is likely to have a chilling effect on immigrants’ willingness to do what the law requires – show up for their day in court.
- U.S. Health and Human Services is sharing Medicaid enrollment data with the Department of Homeland Security, despite privacy concerns. States may allow noncitizens to enroll in Medicaid using only state taxpayer dollars. Sharing this data raises interesting questions over competing state and federal policy priorities, potentially violates federal privacy laws, and opens up yet another method for DHS to easily identify potential enforcement targets.
Bush Institute Insights
- “At the Bush Institute, we refuse to give up on Afghanistan.” That’s how Executive Director David J. Kramer opened his remarks – delivered on behalf of the Institute and Mrs. Laura Bush – at the latest U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council meeting. Kramer thanked council members for their vital work and reaffirmed the Bush Institute’s commitment to stand with Afghan allies and hold the Taliban accountable for their crimes against women and children.
- Global Policy Director Natalie Gonnella-Platts and Fellow Jessica Ludwig recently wrote an op-ed in The National Interest rebutting claims that Afghanistan is now safe for the U.S.-based refugees to return to. They warn against falling for the Taliban’s sophisticated propaganda and call for a steadfast commitment to protecting Afghan asylum-seekers while forcefully opposing the regime’s brutal rule.
